1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a vehicle frame structure.
2. Description of Related Art
Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2011-219014 (JP 2011-219014 A) describes technology related to a center pillar in which an outer reinforcement and a belt anchor reinforcement are arranged between a center pillar outer and a center pillar inner. Also, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2013-049378 (JP 2013-049378 A) describes technology related to a side sill (rocker) in which one portion in a vehicle longitudinal direction that is inside a closed sectional portion formed by a side sill inner and a side sill outer is divided by a plate-like bulkhead. Further, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2011-105269 (JP 2011-105269 A) describes technology related to a pillar lower portion structure in which a closed sectional portion is formed between a rocker inner panel and an outer panel in which a pillar outer panel and a member corresponding to a rocker outer panel are integrally formed, and the pillar inner panel is arranged inside the closed sectional portion.
Also, in the related art described above, a plurality of panels are integrated by being joined by spot welding.
However, normally, when spot welding is used with plates for a vehicle, no more than three plates can be overlapped and joined at an identical position in view of weld quality. Therefore, when joining four plates, a cutout, a hole or the like must be formed in one of the plates so that there are three plates at the welding point of the spot welding. However, if a cutout or a hole is formed in the plate in this way, the rigidity of the plate will end up decreasing.